Every Happy End
by Measured
Summary: Ivan returns to a rebuilt Vale five years later with much on his mind. Eventual Isaac/Ivan, sideline Garet/Jenna, Felix/Piers, Sheba/?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Every Happy End

Fandom: Golden Sun

day/theme: 8 heroes in the time of piece (part one) 9 the linguistics of emotion (part two)

rating: PG-13 for later parts

summary: Ivan returns to a rebuilt Vale five years later with much on his mind. Eventual Isaac/Ivan, sideline Garet/Jenna, Felix/Piers, Sheba/??

Wordcount: 3,800 in these installments.

A/N:

This is for LittleLinor because she encouraged me and because she's one of the few people who agrees with me that Sheba is an evil, evil, evil little girl who would gladly take over the world if she had half the chance. Happy birthday!

Originally it was 'all's well that end's well' but I thought something this er, silly wasn't quite up for a Bard references. Even from his glorious comedies. Speaking of previous ideas, this started out as a somewhat angsty endpiece where each traveler dealt with being tethered and realizing that they could no longer live the happy life they once had; they'd grown too much, seen too much.

Then Sheba came in and turned it into a cutesy romantic comedy, emphasis on the comedy. I think I might've had a little too much fun with Sheba, actually.

Um, I'm saving the former idea for later, for now, enjoy the cute.

* * *

I.

Ivan watched as the waves rolled onto the shore. He was not far from Contigo, from this very harbor the Wings of Anemos had taken flight.

The wind caught his hair, teased it. It had grown quite a bit in five years, and he tied it in with a bit of thick string. If he closed his eyes, he could just see, just remember.

The flight, the tiny wars they had waged, the world they had saved.

It seemed so different now, the peace of this place. Even years later, Ivan has not settled to it.

The people of Contigo treated Ivan and his sister with a certain sort of reverence, and since Hama had taken over as a descendant of the Anemos, no longer was he 'Hammet's weird servant', but a respected member of their society.

Ivan busied himself with refining and rebuilding Contigo to the glory of what it once was. This was his home now, and he would guard it till his end. He oversaw new buildings built, libraries and common halls, a renaissance for the blood of the Anemos. Under the brilliance of the Jupiter Lighthouse, more adepts were born. Ahri was already six, seven this year. Five more children were born that year alone, all of them showing signs that one day they too would wield the powers of Jupiter psyenergy as well.

Hama was kind to him, and under her tutelage, Ivan grew much farther than his own clumsy, searching attempts had been. He could clearly see with his mind's eye the future, as if it was staring back into his gaze. His mind reading abilities could now even penetrate the deepest walls and most hidden memories, though Ivan was too honorable to use them on anyone for sheer curiosity as he had once done when he was much younger.

Despite her presence, and the status and acceptance that came with this, Ivan still felt a certain sense of discontent.

This was what he had always sought, yet all he could remember was traveling with the group. They had been like a family to him as well, close knit, the first to accept him. He remembered the feel of heat in his veins as he stretched his body to the breaking point, constantly forcing and reforging his powers against the hordes of monsters. Now with peace, at times Ivan hardly knew what to do with himself.

Once a traveler, always a traveler.

For hours near the crater just beyond the limits of Contigo Ivan would train. His movements fluid, his eyes closed as he lost all focus but himself and the blade. It was another form of meditation, the world liquefied and turned soft around him. Winds bent to his will, and even the future seemed spread out in a dazzling array before him.

At times, Ivan thought if he trained hard enough the restlessness that lay inside him, churning like waves through tides would cease. Happy as he was to be here, to find a home, something was missing, and with that lost piece, so went the completeness of his contentment.

Had that one last thread truly been severed?

In the beginning there had been letters. Mia wrote occasionally, for she was fond of letters and always kept her ties with other people held close.

Jenna wrote less frequently. Of the Vale group, she was the only one to bother with the writing of letters. Ivan did not take it personally, for he knew Garet was the least likely of them to be taken with writing, and something of Isaac always seemed too distant to be poured out on paper.

He gently pressed Jenna for details; of rebuilding of Vale (now called Vare, a closer translation to the original dialect of the ancient ones) how everyone was faring but most of all, of Isaac.

She happily complied, yet her answers only skimmed the surface of the questions he sought. Ivan thought it would be presumptuous to send letters directly to Isaac or Garet's mother, even if they had been fond of him during his two visits.

It was times like these that Ivan wished his mind reading abilities could pass this distance; that his visions would show him something of group he had fought together with, and less of future generations and times long yet to exist.

As the years passed, the letters fell to a trickle, and then stopped altogether.

* * *

As Ivan prepared for another night, he heard a knock at his door. He threw aside the covers and placed aside the octant and _Weyard's Guide To Studying The Heavens_ (a parting gift from Kraden's library).

Hama came in, a lamp in her hands. She was bathed in it, her lavender hair hung down over her shoulders, free from the pins that usually held it tight in a strict bun.

She took a moment before speaking, as if to collect her thoughts one last time before telling them aloud. She was a thoughtful person by nature, but lately she had seemed especially so, as if some portentous decision lay ahead.

"What is it, sister," Ivan said. "Is something the matter?"

"Ivan," she said softly. "It's time for you to go."

"But sister...why?"

"I don't want to see you leave...but I know that you won't be happy until you find them again."

Ivan was good at containing his feelings. He always had kept them below the surface, except for any stray anger that escaped, and that was usually only to some injustice. But even as talented as he was at hiding them, Hama could see right through to his unease.

Even without asking or searching, she knew him so well.

"I know I'll will worry, that is what sisters do. I know you will be fine on your journey. The monsters have lessened considerably, and your powers have grown."

Ivan nodded. His training had served him well. While his body was still fragile, his mind had been honed into a far more dangerous weapon than a mere blade. He could wield swords and staffs and had gained some skill with them beyond his travels.

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes," she responded. "You miss them."

And Ivan could only nod.

"I'll come back...I promise."

She smiled then, the first time that night.

"I know you will."

* * *

That night, Ivan packed little but the necessities. A few sentimental mementos, most of those also useful in magical purposes. A thin rapier, a spare set of robes and shoes, food, a few spare magical items and texts.

He wanted to make it a quick journey. Even as he wished to see Vare again, a part of him felt reluctant to enter their lives again. Though they were kind, he was still an outsider in their circle.

Hama was there to see him off, along with Ahri and a few others. Ivan's pack was light, he knew that soon upon finding the next continent, he would have to restock.

Even as the road ahead was far yet, Ivan was prepaired to take it, all the way back to Vare and then home again.

* * *

The first few days of the trip had been smooth, the waves lapped peacefully, even playfully at the side of the boat. Ivan was never prone to seasickness, thus he could enjoy the salty sea air unhampered. The sunlight over the waters made it glisten, so bright he could barely look at it without blinking his eyes and squinting.

It was ill time for traveling, with the stormy season on the rise, but Ivan had gained passage by offering to use his psyenergy for as safe a passage as he could ensure. Besides, he could hardly secure his presence with helping on board. The only role that he could even come close to filling was that of kitchen boy, which was already taken.

But that peace didn't last for long.

Black, forbidding clouds drew in, their icy tendrils choking out the once clear skies. The captain looked on with a furrowed brow, creased in worry as the rumblings of thunder came closer, like giant's footsteps.

Water was not his element, it was neutral to his veins. There was no elemental spirit to comfort him in the rolling waves. He had been contracted to use psyenergy should the winds cease, but at this rate, there was no great danger of that.

Ivan clung to the railings and willed the winds to still. Was this yet beyond his power? He focused harder, spoke to the winds, whispering, willing them to cease. The first was unsuccessful, and the second only brought forth a jerking halt before starting anew, with even more fury.

The third stopped before it started, it was the fourth that caused a pure silence as the winds rose up, up mantled and bridled under his control.

The storm did not stop entirely; but it bent to his command. The winds turned calmer, though the clouds remained dark, only lighted by occasional bursts of electricity crackling down from the skies.

* * *

Two days later, the ship landed at the base of the ruins of Babi's Lighthouse. The ship had taken some damage after the storms, gutted over rocky alcoves and reefs while traversing the canyons that separated the seas.

"The reefs are too bad around these seas," the captain said, offhanded. He chewed on his lip

"We won't make it to the next port fer several days yet."

"I can't wait that long, my sister is still waiting for me... I'll just have to make the rest on foot," Ivan said.

"Yer journey is that important? The deserts around here are something fierce, I hear."

Ivan nodded. "I've been through this place before, I will be fine. ..But, will all of you be alright? The ship won't be fixed for a while yet."

"Ach, we've enough supplies to last us for months. If things get dire we'll hunt in the places around here, it's just a matter of getting these lazy crewmen to stop sunning themselves..." He shot a glare at a young sailor who lazed about in the sand. Ivan stifled a grin at this as the sailor hopped up and ran back to his work before he felt more of the captain's wrath.

It felt odd, to take his second journey from the very first place he had set sail. He didn't believe in coincidences, perhaps this too was a sign.

* * *

The desert wasn't as it had been once, so utterly infested with monsters. It didn't matter that he hadn't remembered to pack a douse drop, for now the only lizards he saw were the peaceful, harmless variety.

The wind burnt against his cheek, unpleasant for once. Ivan thought it must be the sands, the mixing of earth and wind to irritate his skin. There was blotchy red patches where rough grains of sand had rubbed it near raw.

Ivan sifted through the sands thoughtfully as he rested under the shade of a rocky outcrop. It was the exact shade of Isaac's hair, when he turned his eyes heavenwards the sky was the exact shade of Isaac's eyes.

Somehow, it seemed fitting. Earth always got under his skin, despite any resistance he had.

It hadn't been the first time. It wasn't just sky and sand and sun that he saw fragments of Isaac in every person he met, even small features; the angle of a jaw, the hard set frown of the grim elder.

Despite being surround by ocean, he never felt but a brief nostalgic memory of Mia or Piers. He'd never glismped Jenna or Garet in the flames of the hearth.

He had liked them, all of them, but Isaac was the only one to haunt him.

* * *

II.

Ivan's first mistake was stopping in Lalivero. He had grown low on supplies, the desert had nary an Oasis to be seen, even with reveal, Ivan found nothing but more sand.

The second was not coming when it was dark, while cloaked in unassuming clothes, getting his supplies and instantly leaving.

The third was greeting Sheba and not immediately noticing the gleam in her eyes.

"Ivan, it's been so long," she said.

"It has," Ivan replied.

"And you've become so _pretty_, look at that hair!" she fawned over it, and Ivan for the first time began to regret letting it grow.

It would hardly be the last.

Sheba had grown several inches taller than him, and her haircut remained short and boyish. She was lean and tan, her body had been toned by the travel and life in the desert, but not strong beyond mention.

She ushered him to her house where her family treated him as an honored guest. Soup made of desert herbs, spare as they were was placed before him. There was some kind of meat as well, one Ivan didn't recognize. He thought it best not to ask in this situation, as always, he was the ever polite companion.

Sheba nudged him with her elbow.

"Don't you just _hate_ the food here?" she whispered.

Ivan shook his head. It was bland but...acceptable. He never turned aside food, Master Hammet had been adamant in teaching him that.

Sheba shook her head and muttered something about 'bland as the food here'. Ivan didn't particularly wish to know how that sentence ended, especially as he was fairly sure he was in reference to himself.

After eating there were tales to be passed around the hearth as Lalivero culture dictated. Ivan was weary down to his very bones, yet he withstood question after question from Sheba and all the younger children.

"I'm going to visit Vale — Vare now."

"I seeeee," Sheba said. She smirked and Ivan felt slightly uneasy. Sheba had a way of making even the simplest conversations seem like mischief.

* * *

Ivan rose when dawn was a mere imagining, the greyblue skies still spattered with recollections of stars and the trace of the moon. He collected his things before they could keep him further, he did not intend to show any disrespect to their hospitality, but he still had yet so many miles to reach.

He felt mildly guilty to have nothing to leave as thanks; he had only packed the necessities and he couldn't offer any of his powers as a Jupiter Adept, for they were surely used to Sheba's own presence and skills by now.

He thanked the lady of the house, his bag already in hand.

"I need to leave soon, I'm afraid. If I don't go now, I might lose more time than I already had."

"I'll see you off, then." Sheba said.

"Um, thank you, but that's not really necessary..." Ivan replied.

"Oh no, it most certainly is. Since you're _guest_ and all, it's _only right_."

Ivan had noticed the small bag at her side, but assumed it was a thing she carried always, or perhaps a parting gift. He paid no heed to the warning signs flickering in his mind, there was no need to jump to conclusions.

It wasn't until they were far beyond Lalivero that she revealed her all-too-obvious reasonings.

"Actually, I'm coming with you," she said with a wicked smile.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary, I can find my way--"

"Pfft, don't flatter yourself. I want to see Vale, or should I say _Vare_ too."

Ivan couldn't think of any valid reason for refusing her, if anything, it would only be safer with her traveling as well.

And with an assured smile she sauntered ahead, humming as she did so.

* * *

Ivan soon found the extant of Sheba's personality. When the group had gotten together again in Contigo, his thoughts had mostly been on the future, his sister. She had stuck close to Jenna and Felix, and Ivan hadn't sought to bridge this. After all, what did they have in common other than both being Jupiter adepts, and both on the same quest?

Sheba had questioned him on certain aspects before, but he hadn't been able to help him as at that point, he'd known very little of his own heritage.

Sheba soon made up for lost time.

Within three nights she'd found a way beyond his mental shield, and it seemed he wasn't the only one who'd been honing skills. She dug deep and proved adept at dismantling even the strongest of mental protection. Ivan had little experience in his mind being pried open, Hama had always respected his privacy and other than a few encounters around Weyard, he had seen few Jupiter adepts.

"I always thought you were a bit fey, but going for the hero?" She raised and eyebrow. "..It seems fitting, somehow."

"It's not—"

"Oh stop, I read it all in your mind. You're utterly _besotted_ with him. He's the sun, the moon, the stars in the sky, blahblahblah," she said. She looked particularly bored with this monologue.

"I never phrased it like that–"

"You _didn't have to_." she said.

"But it's–"

"So you're saying you like girls? Ok, explain what you like about them. Start with Jenna."

Ivan blinked. He remembered Jenna's hair, a reddish pink that fell down her back in a messy ponytail. Of course, she had been attractive, even thinking otherwise would make Sheba relate that thought and cause her to fry the offender to a crisp. Mia had been beautiful as well, also kind, gentle, pleasant and motherly. She had always felt an older sister to him, and he saw now that Jenna had been the same. And Sheba...was currently holding his mind hostage. Polite as Ivan was, his opinion of her had fallen quite a bit as of late.

"I heard that," Sheba said and Ivan cringed.

"Stop reading my mind!" he said in frustration.

Sheba smirked. "_Make me_."

Ivan sighed. She'd managed to sneak under even his strongest mental shields, and blocking constantly was tiring, and she seemed tireless. She would keep poking at his mind until the wall fell with his own weariness. She sorted through his memories like a precocious child looking for toys in her mother's china cabinet, uncaring what was broken in the process.

"But that solves the issue. All the girls you thought about were instantly deemed 'older sister.' Even Jenna, and I certainly wouldn't blame you if you had a crush on her."

Ivan blinked. Sheba's tone implied that her friendship had gone a lot deeper than he'd thought.

"But it's...it's..." Ivan said feebly.

"Hero worship?" Sheba smirked.

Ivan nodded. That was exactly what he'd told himself so many times when his thoughts strayed. Hero worship, gratitude, friendship. It was nothing more. Even his denial was flimsy for deep down he _knew_ the answer.

"Hero worship doesn't include that much 'body appreciation', Ivan. Don't think I didn't notice _those_ thoughts. I had no idea you were that perverted; I figured you were just some boring, shy shrinking violet. Looks like I really underestimated you."

Ivan blushed deeper than he had perhaps ever in his life. He had kept those thoughts hidden as deeply as he could manage, they only came to light in odd dreams he could never quite explain and ones he only wish he could forget instead of remembering every sordid detail.

"I–"

"Give it up, Ivan."

Ivan bowed his head in defeat.

She laughed, it was surprisingly deep. She toyed with his hair affectionately, lacing a flower through the strands.

"You're just like a little sister to me, Ivan."

"But...I'm older. And male," Ivan feebly protested.

"And I'm taller and you're a lot girlier than I'll ever be."

"That's why I'm going to help you," she said. She had the same gleam that was there the first day he had met her again. Ivan was beginning to grow very worried whenever he saw that gleam.

"Help me?" he asked, already knowing with a sinking feeling what she was going to say.

"Why, get Isaac, of course!"

* * *

They passed through meadows and valleys, over seas and plains and made rather good time. Sheba had appointed herself 'head' of this trip and was quite the slave driver. Whether it was simply an aspect of her overall personality, or if she was that excited to see Vare again, Ivan couldn't tell.

Ivan took to his thoughts, but kept them far more guarded than usual. Sheba got beyond these by catching him just before he fell asleep. She'd even invaded his dreams and gave detailed commentary on each one.

"Can't you get a _hobby_?" Ivan grumbled.

"I do have one. Playing with you," she said.

Ivan cringed. "That doesn't count!"

Sheba shrugged. "I suppose I could try taking over the world. That always sounded like so much fun."

In response, Ivan could gape wide-eyed at her. "_What?_!"

"Don't be such a spoil-sport, I was just kidding."

Her laugh honestly made him wonder.

Ivan wasn't sure if going to Vare was such a good idea anymore. At least, not with Sheba in tow. She seemed to sense these thoughts, and realizing that her prey had thoughts of escaping, she merely dragged him that much faster to Vare.

With each passing town his anxiousness grew. Words that he had meant to say evaporated in the dryness of his throat. Across bridges and mountains and through once dense and forbidding forests turned serene, through Kolima, Bilibin, the Goma cave and finally to Vault where it had all began.

* * *

to be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Every Happy End

Fandom: Golden Sun

day/theme: 10. 11. no place like home

rating: PG-13 for later parts

summary: Ivan returns to a rebuilt Vale five years later with much on his mind. Eventual Isaac/Ivan, sideline Garet/Jenna, Felix/Piers, Sheba/??

Wordcount: 5,100+ in this installment, OVER 9,000 total

a/n: It bears mentioning that I'm not purposefully ignoring Mia, it's just that I had to snip her Imilian section of the plot because it seemed far too extraneous. I was already pushing it with the Felix/Piers and Garet/Jenna sub-plots as it was, random snapshots of Imil mid-story would've made it jarring. Maybe I'll do sidestory for her, probably Alex/Mia in nature, as that was the angle I had planned. Until then, just imagine her as a happy healer in Imil.

* * *

III.

Garet was old enough, his family decided.

In Vare, the rites of manhood were stranger than most. There were no grand ceremonies anymore, though in ages ago tomes had recorded vision-quests and fasting. Today all that lingered of those hard trials was the task of building the house that would shelter them for the rest of their days, a task that was laid to their own hands. At times, the youth would decide to do it solely by themselves, from cutting the wood to refining and turning it into the boards they would use for crafting their home. Felix had taken this route, which was no surprise to the town. With only Piers and a few friends and family members, he had gone the hardest, yet purest route in building his home. It was small, yet cozy and held the necessities. It was enough for him.

Garet hadn't gone quite as far as Felix, as the rest of the town had helped him, and he had been glad for every bit of help he could get.

Jenna knew this well, and she thought on the shaping of the house as she walked, balancing the glasses on a tray. She stepped in to inspect the frame of a window where the kitchen would be. It looked over the pool with the psyenergy crystal. Light would flow in from this angle, maybe garnished with some pretty reddish curtains as a finishing touch.

Not that she planned to be in the kitchen anytime soon. Garet would do dishes, even if that meant broken plates and glasses. That hardly solved the problem of who would cook. Jenna was a bit too fond of fire, and somehow her dishes always turned blackened and crispy. Garet could hardly be expected to cook without exploding something, even if it was conceivable that he could actually wash a plate without breaking it.

Jenna giggled at the thought. Clumsy as he was, Garet just might be turned into a good househusband yet.

As she drew nearer, Jenna overhead voices, slightly echoed in the half-built walls.

"Ugh, this is tough work!"

"Felix built his years ago, not that he even uses it with him out traveling with Piers all the time," Garet muttered.

"He'll certainly be using it now considering they're back for the fall and probably the winter," Isaac said.

She smiled, she could just imagine the look on Garet's face.

"Hey you two... working hard?" Jenna beamed at him and Garet dropped his hammer immediately, glad for any excuse for a break.

"Thanks Jenna, I was parched!"

He guzzled his drink, nearly finishing it in one gulp before grabbing another. Jenna was glad she had anticipated this and brought extras.

"What about you, Isaac?"

Isaac didn't even look up from his task. He was so like Felix in that same single-mindedness and dedication.

"A minute, I'm almost done with this board," he replied.

However, if anything, Isaac worked more slowly, focusing all his intensity on that one nail.

"So," Jenna said. She'd set the tray down on the grass beside the house, and inspected their work, her hands behind her back. So far it was satisfactory. A little bare, still, but she could deal with that. At least until a little later.

"You could fit probably two people in a house this size. Possibly three," she said.

Garet wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yeah, Isaac will probably room there until he finishes his too. It's only fair since he's helping so much."

Jenna scrunched up her nose and tried again. Patience, patience, sometimes Garet was a little...dense in such matters.

"But there'd be enough for _other people_. Friends, say. Female ones."

"Oh yeah! I should invite Mia back, I haven't seen her in _ages!_. Thanks for reminding me, Jenna."

At the mention of Mia's name, the last bit of Jenna's shaky attempt at patience cracked and splintered.

"You're such an _idiot_ Garet!"

And with that she stormed off.

"Geez, what's her problem?" Garet said.

Isaac gave a longsuffering sigh and returned to his task of nailing in the plank again.

The general consensus of the town thought that Garet and Jenna would either be found in a very

compromising position followed by a quick wedding or kill each other in a rain of fire that would be mistaken for doomsday by towns for miles around.

For everyone's sake, Isaac hoped it would be the former.

* * *

Piers drank his second cup of the day. The tea in Vare was bitter, a distinct taste, much more than the hazy, bland Lemurian tea he had been used to for all of his long life.

Though he was only a guest, by all means this house was his own as well. When Felix had asked him to stay a little longer and help him build this house, the first solid return to home of four and a half years, Piers could find no reason to refuse him.

His mother was long gone now, and would not await his arrival. His uncle and king could be notified that something had come up, they were not waiting anxiously for his return. Years passed as moments to Lemuria.

So Piers had settled in. He liked Vare and had always gotten on well with Felix. They understood each other, the limits and boundaries that their partnership had warranted. Piers knew many little things now, how Felix took his coffee (black, without any embellishment) or how he looked when fast asleep, his face finally growing peaceful in the world of Morpheus, Piers could only hope those dreams were as happy as Vare had become, and not the nightmares that Felix had woken from in their journeys.

And yet, there was still so much that Piers didn't know. Like for the sheer reason of asking him, and only him to help build this house. Perhaps it was a Vare custom he was unaware of, but Piers couldn't help but wonder if laying the foundation blocks together had some deeper significance than Felix let on. Piers still at times couldn't read Felix's silences; for every secret thought he learned, five more were hidden.

When Felix stole in from outside, his skin still reddened from the exposure, Piers thought he saw Felix's expression soften a bit upon catching his gaze.

Five years he had been kept, for each time and each travel Felix would journey with him, unwilling to leave Piers alone to his wanderings. Each time, Piers felt just as unwilling to send Felix alone for the return voyage. Several times he had returned home, only to leave within a short time, citing unfinished errands.

Five years was a mere fortnight to Lemuria, five more would be hardly noticed.

Lemuria would have to miss him for a little longer.

* * *

It took another two days to reach Vare. It was mostly due to Ivan's feigned weariness in Vault to give him at least some chance to calm himself before returning. Sheba seemed to welcome the short respite as well, perhaps her slave-driving had even affected her in the end. She certainly had caught up in on sleep in two days they were there.

Ivan kept his politeness, and didn't read her mind during that time. Of course, he was afraid of what he would find if he ever tried.

Within the next day they bought a small lunch and crossed the final plains to Vare. Five years had made it seem almost indiscernible from the town it once was. The landscape had changed, yes, but newly built houses had popped up, like wildflowers or weeds over the valley. The remains of Mount Aleph lay behind them and the landscape had changed but other than that, Vare had sprung up from its ashes, newly grown and ancient all in one, Vale had been reborn, and it was a beautiful sight.

Ivan and Sheba stood at the gates for a moment, taking in the difference from the ruins they had seen before. Just as before there was a large Psyenergy crystal, violent in hue put in the middle of the pool. He wasn't sure if it had been salvaged or made again.

"Hey, there's some travelers!" Several children gathered at the wooden entranceway of Vare.

"Who're you?" Squeaked a small towheaded child.

"Me? I saved the world," Sheba said.

"_Helped_," Ivan corrected.

"Who scored the last blow on the doom dragon? _Who?_"

Ivan sighed. Admittedly, she had – _after_ several Grand Gaia's and massive summons, she'd struck the killing blow with her Rising Mace. And she'd never let them forget it. Ever

The rest of the children ensured that their return was well known as they ran from house to house, yelling that heroes had come to stay.

Jenna was the first down the stairs, having been close enough to receive the word of their arrival first. Her face lit up as she caught sight of them.

"Sheba, is that you?!"

"Jenna!"

Sheba flung herself into Jenna's arms and Jenna laughed and spun around, Sheba clinging tight with her arms thrown around her neck.

They hugged and laughed for what seemed like hours but was only minutes. Ivan thought this might be his means of escape. He started to move aside when Sheba grabbed his arm. He'd underestimated how close she was.

"And Ivan--! Wow, you've become so...pretty." Jenna said.

"Hasn't he?" Sheba said. "I'm a bit jealous at how lustrous and soft his hair is."

"Me too," Jenna admitted.

"Just share your beauty secrets and nobody has to get hurt." Jenna grinned at him. Sheba grinned as well.. Ivan had no doubt at all as to whether they'd tie him up and get beauty secrets out of him – _at any cost_.

Ivan felt a hand clap him on the back, way too hard, and before he even turned around he already knew who it was.

"Garet!"

"Ivan! Man, it's been ages since I last saw you!" Garet

"I see you're still holding up," Ivan laughed. "You haven't gotten yourself killed yet."

"Hey, that's unfair! I can be careful too – Can't I, Isaac?"

And then, Isaac was beside him, so quiet that Ivan hadn't even noticed. Isaac had grown much taller since then, and Ivan hadn't grown much to make up the difference. The transitions from a boy to a man had taken its toll on Isaac, even with the healing, there was that same hidden sadness in his sky colored eyes. The sun was catching in his hair, golden and full of light. It was still as disheveled as ever, rough and mussed as if he had just rolled out of a deep sleep.

"It's been a long time, Ivan."

Ivan know that his lips were parted because he could feel the dryness. He licked his lips and searched for something to say, some welcoming thing, some thanks but only found a lack, an emptiness when he reached for the words.

Everywhere around them there was noise and bustle, but here, between them was merely a web of silence.

"Isaac..." he said finally.

After the greetings were exchanged, Sheba's attention fell Isaac and his accidental proximity. She smiled, a smirk really, and Ivan could just see the gears working in her mind.

"Don't you think Ivan's grown up nicely, Isaac?"

Ivan flushed. He knew where this was going, he didn't want to be there when she started mindreading.

Isaac looked nonplussed as ever, if slightly confused at her choice of topics. He didn't answer immediately, seeming to consider her question, weighing the options.

Ivan pulled himself from Sheba's grip and muttered an excuse about going to find Garet.

"But Garet's right here!" Jenna said.

* * *

Fleeing the scene was not the best idea Ivan had ever had. For one, the houses had all been rebuilt, and he had no clue where the location of everything was. Everyone he knew he'd just fled from, and that was everyone who he'd traveled thousands of miles to see once again.

Ivan sighed. He scanned through the sea of houses, all similar shapes and sizes, he still couldn't find one particular one to visit. He couldn't tell a sanctum from a restaurant at this distance.

Ivan finally came to rest under a new sapling. It had already branched out and provided some shade. Wind rustled in its small leaves, the bark was rough against his back, even through his robes.

The house nearest to him was full of sound and life. He overheard women working, talking, laughing. He wondered if it was in preparation of a feast or festival, or perhaps simply a social gathering.

The door opened and a woman exited, throwing emptying her pan of water to the bushes beside the house.

"Ohh, isn't that Ivan? I remember you! You traveled with Garet... ah, you're such a clever boy. Now if only _Garet_was that clever," Garet's mother said.

In response, Ivan smiled shyly.

Red-haired and jovial, Garet's mother was an imposing presence. Beside her in the house was Jenna's mother along with a few other townswomen scuttling in and out.

"I just wish he'd marry that girl already and give me some grandchildren," she sighed. "It's about high time he did."

Jenna's mother smiled as well. "You know how stubborn those two are, these sorts of things take time! Though, perhaps it could be sped up with some meddling."

They all laughed then, filling the kitchen with their noisy bustling.

"Why don't you go run off and play?" Garet's mother said, ignoring the fact that Ivan had long outgrown children's games.

"I can help," Ivan said.

"Really now? Aaron says the same but he seems to fall into the same sort of 'help' that Garet gives. Comes from his father's side, I swear."

"My sister taught me," Ivan said.

"Well, if you say so then. You always seemed a clever lad, I'll let you try."

She handed him a clean apron.

"Take this, you wouldn't want to get those clothes of yours all stained now."

The apron was rather plain, no ruffles or stitched in patterns, like the one Jenna's mother wore. It was a little large, but with his hair pulled bag and the ties knotted tight, he could almost be mistaken for a housewife himself. (A notion he hoped Sheba wouldn't draw inspiration from.)

He first began by helping sift out the flour. It stuck to him, making his cheeks ever paler and collecting in his hair like fairy dust.

The process of mixing was easy, he could remember the steps to add, _sugar, eggs, water, milk_

_a pinch of salt, cinnamon..._ it all looked glutinous and mud-like when stirred by a wooden spoon, but soon it would be baked into something golden and far more savory than the slop is resembled now.

"Mom, I— There you are!" Jenna said, with Sheba close behind her.

"I was wondering where you got off to," Sheba said. She grinned as she saw his apron. She was most definitely getting the notions that he had hoped she wouldn't.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Jenna?"

"I sure am."

They both grinned then, and Ivan felt a chill of something very like terror.

They disappeared for a moment, and Ivan thought of making and excuse and running far, far away, possibly to Contigo or Prox, but they returned before he could

They were holding flowers. Small purple flowers that he hoped hadn't come out of Kay's garden for the sake of everyone.

They closed in and Ivan clung to his mixing bowl, that had long passed the need to be stirred and was quite ready for being laid out and baked.

One girl undid his braid while another fastened his hair into two pigtails. Then both girls proceeded to braid the flowers into his hair. They hummed as they worked, both quite happy to be enforcing hair beautification on their very unwilling friend.

When they finished, they both stood back and admired their work.

"We should work together more often," Sheba said, in a tone that Ivan clearly thought implied plots of world domination.

Garet's mother laughed when she saw him.

"Well aren't you just darling, Ivan. I bet you'll make someone a wonderful housewife."

Ivan blushed and carefully inspected the farthest wall near the door to hide his rosy cheeks.

And of course, fate decreed that this would be the moment for Isaac to return.

Isaac's eyes met his and Ivan knew he was blushing even harder for iIsaac/I of all people to see him like this. Ivan couldn't read the expression on his face, but the only redeeming factor of this moment was that Isaac didn't look disgusted. Then again, Isaac had always been hard to read. It'd only taken time and a lot of careful watching for Ivan to realize the subtleties. Even then it could be misinterpreted, the only sure way was to touch his mind, and Ivan was far too polite to do that.

Ivan looked away to his boots and willed his face to turn a more normal color. Unfortunately, he found that simply willing his body to do something would not always make it comply.

Garet came in soon after, and instead of Isaac's quiet entry, Garet came in with the clatter of the door being crashed open.

"Hi Garet," Jenna chirped, the morning's anger long forgotten by now. Even as Jenna was prone to fits of exploding anger, it always lasted mere hours, if that. It was Felix who had the smoldering, longstanding anger that could take decades to abate.

"Hey Jenna," Garet replied, grinning at her.

Garet's mother and Jenna's mother gave each other a conspiratorial smile. At their age, they could tell the signs of blossoming when it came.

But that moment was broken when Garet caught sight of his first love: food.

"It smells wonderful in here! I'm starved, when will it be ready?".

"A long time from now, so you might as well get back to work," Garet's mother said as she shooed her son from the stewing pot.

"Aw, mom, I've been working all morning. I'm famished."

"And you'll have to continue working if you want your house finished before you're an old man," She said. She slapped his hand away from the drying cookies on the counter.

"Can't we even have a taste?"

Garet's mother put her hands on her hips and glowered. "Not a one until I see more work on that house of yours."

Ivan dared to look up from his careful inspection of the floorboards. Isaac had been distracted for a moment, but his sky blue eyes met Ivan's again. Ivan quickly looked away again. His cheeks were searing again. This was not going quite as well as he would have liked.

* * *

After their impromptu makeover, the girls escaped leaving Ivan with the rest of the chores. Far away from the heat of the kitchen, they laughed with each other over the work they'd nearly been forced into.

"So, Jenna," Sheba said.

Jenna was slightly distracted, enough that she didn't feel Sheba sneaking up on her, or see the light of a mind-read psyenergy glowing around her until it was already too late.

"_She-ba_!"

"Hmm... Garet? I thought you liked _Isaac_."

Jenna colored at the mention. "Yeah, well. These things change."

She busied herself in weaving a bit of grass, with just as much ease as she had woven those flowers into Ivan's hair.

"Jenna?"

Jenna said nothing for a moment, and Sheba moved closer.

"_Jenna?"_

Jenna sighed. Sheba flashed, the mind read already half begun when Jenna halted her.

"Ok, Ok! I'll tell you... I waited a long time. And he just didn't seem interested. I thought, maybe, he had a thing for someone else, like Mia. But when we visited her in Imil a while back, it was the same, he wasn't interested in her either."

Jenna set aside the twined grass now and looked far into the distance, left, to memories long past.

"There were other girls who were after Isaac too, especially after he came back."

Something in Jenna's tone implied a desire to roast these girls alive.

"But, he wasn't interested in them either. It's like someone else has a hold of his heart, or maybe he just isn't interested in the whole thing at all."

"Garet was always there and... " Jenna shrugged. Her face brightened at the mention of Garet. "He's such a klutz," she said fondly.

"Anyways, Isaac... it was just a silly crush," Jenna said. Her tone belied her words, as if saying it had merely been a seed that hadn't grown. A silly little seed that could've bloomed into something beautiful but was cast aside, never to see the light of day again.

* * *

The day waxed and waned. The ladies went into their own homes, where their own families and responsibilities awaited them After a large, hearty dinner made by Garet's Mother, Sheba and Ivan began retelling every detail of their trip together. It took hours with the constant interruption of younger children, skipping to details of the first heroic trip, when Ivan had joined Isaac and Garet, and what had happened to Sheba when she'd finally gone off with Felix. The full weight of the journey had finally hit them, both of them were on the verge of nodding off into their empty bowls.

Jenna insisted that Sheba stay with her, as Felix had moved out, there was plenty of room for her, not that she'd be staying in another room anytime soon. Jenna was already planning sleepovers and stories and gossipy tale tellings all night long. Ivan hoped that their fun didn't lead to Sheba convincing Jenna to help her anymore, though Ivan had a sinking feeling that it would.

With Ivan, it was trickier. With Jenna already rooming Sheba and Garet's brimming to the point of overflowing, it made him wish he'd not lost the tent after crossing that river shortly after reaching Tolbi.

"I can just stay at the inn," Ivan said.

"Nah, we'd never make you do _that_ Ivan! Maybe Felix can room you for a while," Garet said.

"Th-that's ok–" Ivan said.

Despite that Isaac and Felix shared many characteristics, Ivan had always felt unnerved by Felix. His silence seemed to loom, oppressive, like a fog. It was hardly the comfort that Isaac's had brought. Ivan knew that this was simply Felix's way, forged from loss and being forced to grow up too soon, and yet he still felt nervous in his presence.

"Well, we could make room, but it'll take some time, it's kind of cramped at my house already," Garet said.

"It's fine, really, I'm sure I'll–"

"I'll take him in,"Isaac said.

"Oh yeah, your house has tons of room now that you rebuilt it," Garet said.

And with that, it was settled.

The walk there was tense, perhaps it was fatigue, or the fact that Sheba kept smirking at his back. Isaac didn't attempt to start conversation, nor did Ivan ask all the questions that had been weighing on his mind for the past five years.

Soon, soon, everything would be explained. There was no need to hurry. What had taken years to build might take longer to unravel. And then, it might only take a single well-chosen moment.

Regardless, he could only wait until that time.

* * *

Dora was kind enough to welcome Ivan in, whatever burden or inconvenience it left her, Ivan couldn't sense any trace of annoyance on her part.

She treated him not as simply a guest, but a part of the family, even as a second son.

Isaac was warmer, more open around his parents than Ivan had seen before. It was not the first time he had met Kyle, though Ivan saw many similar traits, from the set of his mouth

Isaac's house reminded him of home, Ivan saw hues of his sister in the shadows. The quiet understanding, the gentle, loving glances Kyle and Dora exchanged, the comforting warmth of the heath, Ivan felt as if Contigo was that much closer here.

Ivan did not remember nodding off, only that he had closed his eyes for a moment and fell into the warm shores of slumber. He did not feel arms lifting him, and the voices beyond were a humming nothing, a birdsong.

* * *

Moonlight fell through the windows, even through the sheer curtains.

Ivan turned over again. It wasn't that the bed was uncomfortable, for it was, yet a restlessness fell over him, stealing his sleep away. Ivan had dozed off earlier, but woken soon after, groggy with a thrumming in his head. After a several more minutes of chasing sleep only to have it elude him, Ivan tossed the covers off. The wood floor was bare and clean, and oh so cold. Ivan mentally cursed himself for forgetting to wear socks to bed. He went on tip-toe, cringing when his foot hit a creaky board.

Though usually unnerved by the dark, he knew there was nothing to fear in Vare. Still, the dark houses seemed less peaceful than jarring. The lit ones looked ghostlike. Ivan shook this senseless fear from his mind.

The only thing in Vare to be disconcerted by was Isaac.. Also, Sheba, his mind reminded him, but that was another thing entirely.

At one time during their travels Ivan had felt as if he could tell Isaac anything, as if every secret could be stripped bare and pressed to the light. No worry or misgiving would be kept quiet long,

And yet, something lay between them now. A veil, a fog that clung deeper than Ivan had expected. Of course the years had passed,

Ivan shook his head. The night air felt good against his skin, and he closed his eyes for a moment, ignoring the sleeping town around him. When he opened them, he caught a glimpse of the crystal below. Ivan walked towards it without thought, without reason, in a sleepless haze.

The psyenergy crystal before the gates glowed in the night air. Refracted violet in the water below, it looked glasslike in its transparency. Ivan stared out at the angles and facets of the stone, shining with a gentle aura under the gaze of the moon. He felt an odd notion to lay his hands upon it, as if doing so would solve every problem that had arisen. The distance wasn't far, and the islet that held the faceted stone was just a simple leap away. Without thought to the consequences, Ivan jumped the distance and laid his hands on the stone. Energy rushed through him as his skin touched the crystal. It was surprisingly warm, he had expected it to feel cold, but it was heated, as if a flame lay deep inside, emanating outward.

"It's late," a voice said.

Ivan started from his thoughts and spun around to face to see Isaac standing near. In the moonlight he looked so much softer, shadows blurring the sharp angles of his face and hair.

"Isa–"

Unmeaning to, Ivan's foot slipped in the muddy side of the islet.

And then Isaac was moving closer, jumping to the islet and reaching out-- but not soon enough, for his hand missed Ivan's by mere inches as he fell to the pool of water.

Thankfully, the water wasn't as deep in this end. Bruised, and shocked from the cold water, Ivan clung to the side, his fingers dug into the damp grass and soil. It was much too slippery to hold on to, let alone to pull himself up from.

"Here, take my hand," Isaac said. Isaac bent down, his hands outstretched.

Ivan attempted to lift himself and his wet clothes from the water, but it was heavier than expected, like watery hands pulling him back in. He tried again, and gripped Isaac's hand, shaking, slipping, so close to being pulled free from the water's clutches...

And then they were both tumbling down into the dark water.

Soaked and with water dripping from his hair, Isaac looked like a wet dog. Ivan suppressed a giggle as Isaac pushed his hair our of his face. He couldn't hold the laughter back any longer as the same wet stands fell back into his face and a steam of water came out his mouth.

Ivan felt Isaac's gloved hand brush his cheek, pushing away damp strands of hair that clung to his cheek

"...Isaac?"

Even in the blackness, Ivan could just make out Isaac pulling off his gloves, and reaching to press aside another wet strand from his face. This time, it was cold and damp, a bit clammy and yet his skin. His hand stayed there, warming against Ivan's flushed cheeks.

"Hey mister! Whatcha doin' swimming at this time?"

A towheaded boy looked down in the water, the same one that had greeted them at the gates of Vare.

"And what are you doing awake at this time, Jimmie?" Isaac said.

"Spot needed to be walked," Jimmie said. "Mom says if I wanna keep him, I gotta walk him myself."

Ivan used this moment to disentangle himself. While the boy chatted away, Ivan pulled himself out of the dark water and into the night.

* * *

a/n: just a short note here. I hope to update around the 'anniversary' of the first posting every month until it's done (aka 7-10th) though to balance it each chapter will be 1) around 4,000-5,000 words, possibly in parts 2) done for 31 days at lj (in which case that the day in question doesn't fit, I'll use another latter one and consider it 'early')

I love 31 days, without it I have a hard time not wandering off from deadlines.

So, see you in November, promise I'll be working hard until then!


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Every Happy End

Fandom: Golden Sun

Day/theme: January 14th / some mad hope (late)

Rating: PG-13 for later parts

Summary: Ivan returns to a rebuilt Vale five years later with much on his mind. Eventual Isaac/Ivan, sideline Garet/Jenna, Felix/Piers, Sheba/???

Wordcount:+ 5,368 in this installment, 14,582 total

A/N: and by November, I mean January! To be fair, I had most of the chapter written up, but had one part that had to be rewritten And I had to readjust a plot part and then there was Christmas...

As always, For LinLin ~

IV.

Time had changed little. Ivan wondered, not for the first time, why he had returned. At heart, even with many years, he felt just as young; a fifteen year old with all the same fears and anxieties. He had meant to lay old feelings and ghosts to rest, but if anything they had changed little. The wishes that he had thought had fallen to embers burned brightly again.

A part of him wondered what he had hoped to accomplish by returning. He should have buried those memories, those faint touches of first love to starve and disintegrate out of existence. He would barely notice the dust.

But Ivan knew that he couldn't have lived that way, constantly looking backwards to a past growing more golden and enshrined every day. He couldn't marry or live his life a monk when his gaze was always backward.

He tried not to think of Isaac's touch or how well he had fit within their quiet household. He pushed thoughts of family or tethers aside just as he folded up his clothing and smoothed over his bedspread.

Ivan felt a gaze upon him and turned around to find Isaac staring at him. He had leaned against the doorway. The sun caught in his golden hair almost lovingly, it fell over Isaac's face and pooled about him in the spilled light from the window.

"Breakfast is ready," he said.

"Thank you for telling me...I'll be down in a minute," Ivan replied.

Isaac nodded, but didn't leave immediately. Ivan felt the gaze at his back and swallowed. His preparations became robotic. When he turned back to go downstairs he couldn't look Isaac in the eye.

**.**

After breakfast everything was still shrouded in a morning mist. All the sounds of morning had begun and flitted about him. Dora hummed in the kitchen as she washed the three empty bowls. Ivan had offered to help but this time she had smiled and refused. Ivan wandered away.

Near the door Isaac stared out at the gauzy tourniquet of fog wrapped over the houses. When Isaac turned he softened; it was not precisely a smile, but something close to it.

"Do you have a minute? I have something to show you."

Ivan followed out into the wall of mists.

"Take my hand, you'll lose the way if not," Isaac said.

Ivan gulped and took the offered hand.

The _something_ was a far up the ridge, quite far from the other houses yet still within the limits of Vare. It was a still place, silent and untouched, the kind of place where someone could sit for hours and bask in the secludedness of it all. It was the perfect place for contemplation, for meditating and training.

"I want to build here," Isaac said. "For my own home."

The grass seemed more lustrous, the flowers deeper and shaded by an alcove of trees. A small stream passed through, it was an offshoot of the pool at the center of Vare. It was a shelter, a peaceful abode that was apart from the town yet close enough to not be isolated.

"It's beautiful..." Ivan said.

"....I'd hoped you'd say that."

Ivan was surprised, it hadn't crossed his mind that Isaac would ever need even the slightest validation from him. Isaac had opened his mouth as if to speak, but all he'd gotten out was Ivan's name before was cut off by the barking of a dog.

A small spotted dog ran through, chasing a poor orange striped cat. The towheaded boy, Jimmie followed at a close distance, calling the dog back to him.

"Ivan–"

Ivan loved the sound of his name on Isaac's lips. Loved their shared tastes and how it felt like home whenever he was with Isaac. He loved it too much

"I-I should get back," Ivan said.

"I suppose you should," Isaac replied.

When they walked back the mists had faded into the air and there was no excuse for hand-holding. The distance between them felt farther somehow.

**.**

Garet was never opposed to getting out of a little work. So with the return of his former comrades, the first thought was how to get them into nailing boards and carrying things so he could be off napping somewhere.

It wasn't that he was a total slacker, it was just that his hand was killing him and it was asking a lot to have Isaac cast cure on him about every hour or so. If Isaac was as sick and tired of building as Garet was, he certainly didn't show it.. Isaac was like that though, perfect son and hero. It wasn't that Garet was jealous, it surely couldn't be _enjoyable_ – Still, it got annoying at times. Perfect Isaac this, hero Isaac that. Sometimes Garet just wanted to see _Isaac_ be the one to fall on his prat and be laughed at for once.

But Garet never dwelled long on these thoughts. Isaac was his friend. Pratish perfect heroism and all. Garet would fight death for him and had. Garet let nothing get between them _nothing_.

And of course, it wasn't Garet's place to question a tradition (even if his father was mayor) and Garet had to follow it, but sometimes he just wished Vare would employ more carpenters. It wouldn't really be demeaning if he just paid some guys. They did it everywhere else and it didn't make _them_ any less of a man. Or Men.

Garet sighed. If he waited anymore, Jenna would get mad at him again. She was in good spirits ever since Sheba had come, but Jenna was mercurial and storm clouds always lay in her horizon.

**.**

Piers could not help but be amused by the sight. Garet floundered under boards and desperately tried to use move psyenergy on a particularly heavy plank. It fell down upon him and smacked him in the head in the process.

"Aren't you going to help him?" He said.

"The point of the trial is to finish it yourself," Felix said drily.

"I helped build yours," Piers responded.

"That, is another thing entirely," Felix said. He sipped his tea which was about the same color as the strands of hair that wove down his face.

Piers chuckled. "You're so stubborn."

Felix didn't bother to respond to this one, it would be merely stating the obvious.

"I think they're a good match," Piers said. "They'll make each other happy."

"Before or after they kill each other?" Felix replied.

"Not everyone can get along like we do," Piers said.

He hadn't meant to broach this subject. It had simply fallen out without thought. Out in the air it seemed almost an uncomfortable thing, as if he had touched something that was best left to unspoken subtleties.

"Especially with Jenna in the picture," Piers amended. "She'd even find a way to fight with Isaac, I bet."

"Indeed," Felix said.

Through these years Piers hadn't agonized over their details. They simply were. Friends, comrades, he never sought to find the line. He hadn't asked when Felix had asked him to help build his house or all the times they had traveled over Weyard together after the Lighthouses had been lit. He didn't ask now, even if the question had awoken within him recently._ What exactly were they?_

**.**

Days passed and Ivan felt warmed by the calm atmosphere of Vare. It felt so calm that it was hard to imagine that just a few years back it'd been in shambles.

With them there, the work went slightly faster. Garet's house began to look like more than a few scarce bones and more like a home. Walls were put up with thick insulating straw to drive back the harsh chill of winter. Piers even eventually convinced a very begrudging Felix to come and help. He worked side by side with Garet on several times.

In truth, Ivan never got the sense that Felix disapproved of Garet entirely. That didn't stop him from being generally morose and quiet – that was just how Felix was any day of the week. In all the admittedly short time he had traveled with the other group, Ivan had never seen Felix crack a smile even once.

By comparison Isaac was practically genial. But then, to Piers or Sheba, even Isaac might seem unapproachable compared to Piers. Ivan smiled as the thought crossed his mind.

**.**

When the heat of the day came, Garet for once took the non-lazy path and worked on. He stripped down out of his sweat-soaked shirt and joined Isaac in their hot sweaty half-naked work together. Ivan had to leave early as his face grew very red and he was prone to dropping things and staring very determinedly at the wall. Garet figured he was overheated and told him to _leave it to us men_ which was kind of awkward in retrospect, but at least it was Ivan which meant he got to live.

So they set to hammering and finishing up the house and that was about when Garet learned an important lesson: women (or at least some of them) found shirtless carpenters hot. After the third woman stopped by just to chat, Garet started to get a clue and did some chatting of his own. After that he thought this carpentry job wasn't half bad. It wasn't since he'd come back a hero since he'd gotten this much attention from the ladies and it was a nice feeling.

A nice feeling at least until Jenna came up and was _smiling._

Nothing was more frightening when Jenna smiled like that. Except when Sheba smiled like that, or some combination of them both smiling sweetly at the same time. Then prophets had a foreboding of doom and people huddled in their houses for fear that the world was ending.

"Oh, Hey– Jenna, I didn't expect you–"

"Oh really?" she said.

"Yeah, really," Garet chuckled, it more less humor and more a nervous tic.

"Garet," Jenna said in her sweetest voice "I would like to talk to you. In private."

"Uh, sure Jenna, Just let me–"

"_Now_," she said.

Garet dropped his work and followed after her.

**.**

"Aren't you going to do something?" Piers said.

"And have Jenna kill me?" Felix retorted

"Good point. Still, there should be a healer around. It'd be a shame for him not to survive"

"You're the Mercury Adept," Felix said.

"You're her brother. Also, I know for a fact you know Cure," Piers said.

Felix sighed. He moved to follow them, but not before he gripped Piers' hand.

"In case I need backup," Felix explained gruffly. "You know how she is."

Felix's gloves prevented any actual contact of skin, but it was still oddly comforting to have their fingers aligned and met like that.

**.**

They'd done some work, _some_ – hardly enough for Jenna and Garet's mother's liking.

But it was an initiation rite to drink brew while procrastinating on a building project and Garet took the drink of manhood with relish. Isaac had already gone home, and Felix had been called away for some reason by Jenna. Piers suspected it involved a Serpent Fume in some form or another.

Piers had stayed here with Garet. For one, even as he was always welcome at Felix's parents house, it grew awkward without Felix there. By this time he should be perfectly at ease with every part of his friend's life, but there was a sort of unsaid unease about Felix's parents. They thought of and did not say the questions but Piers saw and didn't know how to reply.

So he stayed with Garet, it was something of a tribute to his almost-family, to keep their probably future son-in-law from falling off a cliff in a drunken haze (provided Jenna didn't kill him first).

Garet leaned against the side of one of the newly raised walls, while Piers chose to rest on his knees with his legs folded under him.

"What if it falls over?" Piers said.

"Then this will be a good test before we put the roof on!" He laughed and took another gulp of the brew. Piers was still only sipping his drink. At this rate he'd have to stay mostly sober to ensure that one of them could walk the other home.

"Soon enough I'll be living here with Isaac," Garet said. "We should raise our glasses to the future!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Piers said.

"Hmm... House, friends, drink – Nope, I think I've got them all," Garet replied.

"Really?" Piers said. He gave the same eyebrow raised _Are you sure? / You've got to be kidding_ look that he'd learned to give Garet. He'd often seen the same expression on Isaac's face.

"Pretty sure, what else could I be missing?"

He almost outright said _Well, Jenna for one_ but Piers thought that for once he could hardly say anything. But as Garet's friend, even only a vaguely traveling friend who knew him only by association, it did seem something of a bad thing to do to let Garet run headfirst into a metaphorical brick wall repeatedly. Even if running headfirst into metaphorical brick walls _was_ Garet's specialty.

Piers took a few more sips and set it aside. He wouldn't ask for a refill, he probably wouldn't even finish his glass. He'd had hangovers before and didn't feel like treading that water again. He hadn't inherited his uncle's legendary iron stomach, that was for sure.

"Remember that celebration in Vault after everything was over?" Garet laughed. "You disappeared with Felix about halfway through, I'm surprised you guys aren't married by now."

Piers choked on his drink. He coughed and sputtered as the alcohol burned through his body.

"_What?_"

"I said Jenna and Isaac were dancing that time, I'm surprised they aren't married yet."

"Oh, I thought you said– Er, nothing," Piers said.

"Really though, what were you and Felix off to anyways?"

"Uh, just talking..." Piers said. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I thought maybe you were teaching him about some top secret Lemurian hero stuff. You'd share with me if you were, right?"

"There's nothing I can really share and even if there was, I don't think it would work. The elements are rather ah, _opposing_," Piers said apologetically.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Garet said.

"–but you said you thought Isaac was after Jenna?" Piers prompted again.

"Well isn't he?" Garet said. Garet seemed more tipsy now, and Piers wondered how much alcohol he'd consumed. Garet laughed, in almost a non-sequitur act and Piers took that as the answer to his unsaid question.

"I don't think so. Why would he wait five years without making a move if he wanted to marry her?"

"Isaac tends to think things through slow. He'd take his time with these things. Besides, Jenna likes him and she'd definitely get anyone she wanted," Garet said.

"So you're standing aside and waiting for Isaac to make a move?" Piers said.

"We're best friends, he'd definitely do the same. We're practically blood-brothers from that one time we both scraped our knees in the pools."

"But if she liked _someone else_," Piers started carefully.

"Well then they'd be a lucky man, but I'd feel bad for Isaac," Garet said.

That was about the point that Piers gave up. He began to see Felix's frustration with Garet, but not from the eyes of a brother. Perhaps not an overprotective brother, but one who none the same had to watch his sister crying tears of frustration over her rather oblivious intended. And _that_ was when she wasn't burning things to the ground.

"Hey Piers, when are you gonna get married?"

Piers cleared his throat. "That's a good question." One he didn't quite know the answer to or even where to begin with. Piers searched for an exit from this topic. Garet was quite easily diverted from shaky topics. In Piers' opinion it was one of his best qualities.

"Say, how did you get that burn? Do you want me to cure it?"

And so Garet launched into a telling of how he got that large scorchmark on his back. The answer was predictable, the worst thing was that Garet couldn't seem to see the _cause_ of her wrath in the first place.

**.**

Sheba could announce her presence when she wanted but just as often she'd sneak up and scare the living daylights of her next victim. Ivan had no question as to whether she did it on purpose.

Ivan had been clearing his mind, focusing and breathing. It was only a hint of the practice regime he'd had during Contigo, but the winds here weren't as strong. Vale was higher up, a place of earth and fire. It was harder to breathe here and even harder to focus with the rocky disturbances.

He had been attempting to blank his mind despite the stinging of the limestone and clay and silt about him when he felt hands on his shoulders and his mind being invaded again.

And who else could it be but—

_"Sheba!"_

"You aren't going to tell him?" She said.

"I–"

She leaned in and pressed her forehead to his, searching even deeper through his mind. He flinched as she dug up all his recent fears and anxieties and even the memory of the night by the psyenergy crystal.

"You walked all this way just to chicken out? This is really boring."

"But—"

She crossed her arms and smirked. "If you don't tell him, _I will_."

Ivan gulped. He had no question of whether she was joking or serious, he definitely knew the answer to that one.

"You better hurry up. I'll make it _juicy_ if you don't get moving. I wonder if Isaac knows how he looks in your mind. You know _naked_."

**.**

The sun was headed down and Jenna and Sheba lounged about the sepia courtyard. Colors pitter-patted gently over the stones, staining them pinks and golds. Isaac stood at the edge, neither relaxing or interacting with the girls. He waited, but for what was unclear.

"Where is Ivan anyways?" Jenna said conversationally. "I haven't seen him in hours."

"Hmm, _wonder_," Sheba said.

Jenna giggled. "You're always so mean to him. Do you have a crush on him or something?"

From the corner of her eye Sheba noticed Isaac's jaw tighten. It was faint, for his expression was the same stoic Venus Adept type that Felix was. She'd have almost have missed it.

Hmm, now _thiis_ was interesting.

Sheba couldn't keep herself from smirking as she started sowing a few seeds of her own.

"Well we _are_ one of the few remaining Jupiter Adepts about. It's pretty much demanded that we marry and go at it like rabbits to ensure the continuation of our blood."

"Sheba!" Jenna laughed. "You're horrible."

"I bet kissing him would be just like kissing a girl." Sheba spoke as if she had experience on that matter.

"Probably would," Jenna said. "He'd probably actually get a clue unlike Mr. Genius over there."

"You should burn sense into him."

"Already did," Jenna said. "Didn't work."

"Then there's always plan B – dragging him into the closet and kissing his brains out."

"I'll keep that in mind." She grinned with a hint of mischief. "Sooo, you and Ivan, huh?"

"He is rather sweet, and with really soft skin and hair..."

Sheba took a sideways glance at Isaac. There was some kind of nervous tic at his left eye and his jaw was clenched so hard it must have been painful. Now _this_, this was almost as fun as teasing Felix had been. Not quite as good as teasing Ivan, but not many people proved as pokeably fun as Ivan was.

"I'm still jealous that his hair is so soft," Jenna said. She balanced her chin thoughtfully on one hand. "I haven't seen hair that luscious since Alex."

"I remember him," Sheba said. "He was amusing. Much more fun than those two Proxians."

"If by 'amusing' you mean a betraying creep then yes, he was _very amusing_"

Sheba shrugged languidly. "Well, he hasn't been seen in years anyways, so it hardly matters."

V.

As the light faded Ivan pushed past the limits of Vare. Each step away was to a serene place where he could continue his meditation without interruptions, especially of the Sheba verity. Isaac's building place was what first came to his mind, but it would be impossible to be detached in a place where every patch of grass would whisper Isaac's name.

From the slanting sides of the ruins of Mt. Aleph were cracks and crevices of all kinds. Even natural caves had managed to escape the destruction. Most everyone knew that the ruins of Mount Aleph was a dangerous spot, one to be avoided. Children claimed in haunted. Water dripped deep inside, and sometimes deep at night, howls of pain came from inside the depths of the ruins.

Ivan certainly wouldn't have gone back there, his memories of the place were still too fresh. It had only taken a peculiar sound to draw him closer after he finished his training.

A girl in pigtails sobbed before the ruins. Her brown pigtails bobbed up and down as she tried to wipe the tears from her puffy red eyes.

"What's wrong?" Ivan asked.

"Spot ran in and Jimmie ran after him," the little girl sobbed. "A-And they haven't come back!"

For this, he couldn't afford to wait. He was small enough to follow through, and powerful enough to not be helpless at whatever dangers might lie within.

"Go get Isaac, Felix and the others," Ivan said.

"B-but what about you?" She wailed.

"I'll be fine... Go on!"

Ivan closed his eyes and focused on a point so pure, until the world faded away around him. Grass and trees became little more than bright spaces of color and energy around him. He saw without seeing through the earth, the greatest opposite force to his element of wind.

Flame and Water could be bent, but earth was solid and unforgiving. It took all his power to sense deep within an a faint energy, a heart that still beat–

Ivan took a breath and ducked into the crevice. He was barely small enough to fit within the sharp intercepting edges. It was a tight fit. Ivan pulled himself down, deep into the veins of the earth. It was rocky here, he gripped the earth and pulled himself down, to whatever lay in the ruin of Mount Aleph. His skin scraped against the sharp stones and rough edges of the ruins. It was like the teeth of a monster that were slowly rending their prey.

As he went deeper below the surface he heard rumblings and the fear soured and congealed within his blood. Ivan had always been a bit claustrophobic. He'd kept quiet during the times when they'd had to duck deep underground where the air was damp he'd remained quiet and huddled into himself until it was all over. And Ivan remembered those times. Even with the terror rising, clawing inside him, he fought on. It was one weakness he didn't want to admit to.

And yet he remembered things being pressed into his hand with a gruff _here_. Little things, nuts, herbs, an elixir, once after he'd been blinded. Even once he'd handed over a delicious, buttery tasting kind called a Hard Nut.

They could have been coincidental, but Ivan didn't think so. Had his shoulders trembled enough to be noticeable? Had his voice shaken ever so slightly when responding?

It had grown so dark that he could barely make out the shapes with his eyes opened, but if closed, the brightness prevailed and he could focus on the shades of the prevailing energy. Even as it was all stones here, they emitted a faint pulse of light just as the plants and trees. With this he could almost make his way as it steadily began to incline. When the cavern finally hit even ground Ivan gasped as he pulled himself across the floor, and finally opened his eyes again.

It had been hollowed out, and yet it looked unnatural. Ice glistened and an eerie white light filled the place, making all carved out place visible.

_It hadn't seemed that deep._ Ivan thought.

The room interconnected with another which showed more signs of life. There indentations carved into rock here, scratches made on the walls all in a rhythmic order of lines.

Like someone recording the passing of days.

Ivan studied the scratches for a moment. If it was in fact a calendar, then this would have been almost five years– five years stuck under the earth, in a cold dark place desperately clawing in their entombed state–

Ivan wrenched himself from that living nightmare and forced himself to walk to the door of what looked to be the last of this enclosure.

This room was the brightest of all of them, it was like staring at the sun reflecting over snow, like looking into the source of light itself.

Long blue hair that was like a rising mist, so thin and fine it looked almost white. Those cold, calculating silvery blue eyes. The almost smile, a smirk really–

_Alex._

He held the dog in his arms, tight enough that it couldn't escape. It wriggled and whimpered and let out a sharp bark at the sight of Ivan. And not far from him, looking up was Jimmie himself.

"Alex... What do you want?! What did you– What did you do to him?!"

"This thing? I saved it from certain death." He inclined his head towards where a bit of broken rock had fallen in the middle of the path. Ice crystals held up a small portion of it, just enough to have saved the dog.

"Then, if you're not mean then why won't you give him back?" Jimmie wailed.

"Oh, I'll give him back. Merely, I require a payment. I saved your pet, now you will bring something for i_me_/I. Fair is fair."

"What kind of scheme is this of yours?!"

"Don't label me that 'stereotypical generic villain' so easily. It's demeaning," Alex said. He scoffed and brushed away invisible dust from the shoulders of his tunic as if dusting off Ivan's inferior opinions along with them.

"Everyone wants power, from the smallest insects to the grandest kings. I just had the drive to take it," Alex said. His lips pursed, as if in bemusement or remembrance, which Ivan couldn't tell.

"Tell me, Ivan, did your hero _Isaac_ tell you everything?

"Well— No..."

Isaac had always been silent about many aspects of their journey. He wasn't one to comment needlessly on things, that was Garet's job. He rarely complained about their journey though Ivan had always sensed a sort of burden, a weariness. He had tried to ease it in small ways, but then Ivan was hardly more than a child, and still very fragile and weak– All too often it had been Isaac who had been doing the comforting and the saving.

Even if things weren't said, Ivan had liked to believe that they held a bond of trust that was unique, apart from simple friendship.

"Hm, so you mean to say that Isaac didn't tell you about the great power he inherited, and kept all to himself? Isn't that rather selfish that he didn't share it with the rest of you?"

He hadn't mentioned a thing.

"I trust Isaac...more than anything. If he hid whatever he received, then he had a good reason for it. Maybe the Wise One picked him as a keeper for whatever this is."

."Perhaps, perhaps," Alex said dismissively. "Here's the deal. I'll let the boy and the pet free if you lead me out of here. Agreed? Break the force field and I'll leave this horrid place and let you alone."

"Force field? There's no force...." Ivan said.

Alex muttered about the damnable deity figures and rocks, and stared at the thin air as if he saw something deeper within it. Ivan stared too, but saw nothing even when he focused the energies of reveal upon where Alex looked.

"It's small, you won't be able to slip though," Ivan said.

"I've grown stronger in this five years," Alex said. "The very limits of power can be harnessed when one has seen death's face that close to them and felt it's breath on their neck."

He focused on the tunnel and the brilliant frostlight gleamed through the cracks of the tunnel. A wave of ice exploded – for that was the only word for it and forced the cavern into a much wider sparking cavern encrusted in ice.

"Don't slip," Alex said. His was sardonic, teasing even.

Ivan placed one foot upon the ice as a test. He carefully tried another step only to find himself jerking backwards and suddenly lying on the ground staring dazed at the ceiling of the ice cavern.

Alex smirked. "Perhaps I should lead."

Ivan pushed himself up from the cold. He was still a bit pained and dazed, and when Alex took Ivan's hand, he didn't fight it. Alex's hand was completely devoid of any kind of warmth as if he was some living dead pacing the confines of his tomb.

Ivan himself took Jimmie's who held his precocious pup tight with the other arm. With that they began the ascent of the ice-road again.

Alex's power over the ice was absolute. He walked on it as if he was its master and god. The ascent for him was easy, but for Ivan and Jimmie, it was as if Alex was their sole savior in this cavern To let go of his hand was to fall into the deep abyss. To let go was death and no return from the depths of this cold, dark place.

They took shaky steps for what seemed like years up that cavern. Ivan squinted at the bright moonlight, but Alex looked at it like a long lost lover. He drank in the sights of the outside world, one which he had not seen in so many years, like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Now, your part of the deal is done. Spot, Jimmie, you are free to go."

"However–" Alex said. "You are not going anywhere." Alex placed a hand on Ivan's shoulder and Ivan could feel the cold seeping through his material and into his skin.

"What? You promised!"

"I'm not keeping your forever. Don't flatter yourself, you're not that appealing," Alex drawled.

"Well neither are you," Ivan snapped back.

"Really? How inhospitable. Is that how Vale treats all guests?" Alex said.

"It's Vare now. They renamed it after the rebuilding process– And that's beside the point," Ivan said.

"Is that so...?" Alex said. "Well, the more you know."

"What do you want with me?"

"Oh, we're just going to have a nice long talk while we wait for others. Tell me, has the world changed much while I was gone?"

One stolen teapot and two cups later jasmine tea steeped. Alex rested his chin on his hand and feigned interest as Ivan went into deep detail about the most mundane possible things he could think of. After his third take on how long it would take for paint to peel Alex cut in.

"That's all nice and well – but tell me, what do you know about the _Golden Sun_?."

"Nothing, I'm afraid," Ivan said coolly.

"Ah? Then pull up a chair. I'll enlighten you."

**.**

ufufu, to be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Every Happy End  
Fandom: Golden Sun  
Day/theme: June 27 [2009]: Misery and mountains, arrows and bows  
Rating: PG-13 for later parts  
Summary: Ivan returns to a rebuilt Vale five years later with much on his mind. Eventual Isaac/Ivan, sideline Garet/Jenna, Felix/Piers, Sheba/???  
Wordcount: 3,645 this chapter, 18,543 / 51 pages total  
A/N: Sorry for the wait! I've been working on this, I swear but it got to a difficult part to write and, well. It got sidetracked. Basically, the shorter chapter is due to the fact that I've split the last chapter(s) into parts to be more easily read (and more easily written) Countdown to the end!

I am really having too much fun with Sheba. And Alex. And all of them.

For Lin, as always.

VI.

By the time Alex had finished his tale, Ivan could only gape at the things he had heard. The Gold of the gods? The Sunfire disk? The sum of alchemy? These esoteric terms were things Ivan had merely glanced through and deemed myth while reading. And to think, that Isaac held a half of it.

(He remembered a hint of gold that Isaac had held. Ivan had thought it had been a broken bauble, some heirloom that had only nostalgic value. He hadn't asked, and Isaac, being Iaaac, hadn't offered any reasoning.)

"Isaac had a reason. He must have been guarding it," Ivan said.

Alex leaned upon his elbows and studied Ivan. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really," Ivan shot back.

"While touching, your loyalty shows your ignorance. He's most certainly keeping it for himself and his descendants. Even halved, the Golden Sun acts as a prism. It focuses energy into a much more pure and powerful form. Isaac could have the world in his grasp with one single earthquake that would rip across Weyard, splitting it into many pieces."

"But he hasn't," Ivan said. "And he won't. He's not like that. _Like you_."

"Not yet, at least. Really, your devotion to him is surprising, considering he's merely a comrade...isn't he?"

Ivan ducked his head to hide his flaming cheeks. "Isaac is... He's... m-my friend."

Alex chuckled. "How intriguing. The plot thickens....."

**.**

The little girl pigtailed girl – Keyla, was her name – stumbled down to Vare. It took some time to get back on her stubby little legs and by the time she got there, it was already turning to twilight.

She had a message to deliver!

Before she could get help, her elder brother found her and summarily took her home for punishing. A short time later Jimmie too returned, with the same sort of fanciful tales of a man who lived in the mountain with whitish blue hair and eyes like ice. The man had even tried to steal his little Spotty away! But then he'd managed to fight him off (alone, of course) and he and Spot ran away from that place.

The imagination of children these days.

In houses far not so far away, certain eyes strayed to the window, awaiting a return. Some strayed more than others.

**.  
**  
"It seems they didn't take the bait. Children really aren't the best choices for messengers."

"I'm _bait_?" Ivan said, more surprised than he should have been.

"What did you think you were? A companion? I didn't keep you around for your good looks, you know," Alex deadpanned.

Ivan stewed over that silently.

"Ah, what to write..." Alex lifted the quill thoughtfully.

"I have captured your damsel and will only relinquish him if you deliver the other half of the Golden Sun by–"

Ivan choked on his tea. "_What_?"

"You prefer 'companion?' or perhaps 'comrade'?"

"It would be more accurate," Ivan replied testily.

"Suit yourself," Alex said. He did not cross out the original, but added to the margin. Ivan's mouth went dry at the small margin that added the full reading of 'damsel, companion, comrade and/or concubine'.

"A shame I don't have another peon to be a messenger. I should've kept the boy around. At the very least he could've fetched me some more crumpets to go with this tea."

Alex focused a long moment. He pressed his palms together and created a ithing/I. It looked like a bird, but was made of snow and frost. It was living, it breathed, though it was ice that the thing exhaled.

"What is–"

Alex smiled. "Ah, my pet. I learned how to create this just last year. You see...Power lies within Mount Aleph and I learned to tap into it. All these years Vale never even used the power right next to it. You all ate and slept next to enough power to change the entire existence of the world."

"They were guarding it," Ivan said.

"They were _wasting _ it. Imagine how the world could change if it had been used years ago... Well, no need to imagine. Soon enough it will be time."

**.  
**  
Garet, Jenna, Sheba and Garet's siblings had gone deep into a game of cards. They shouted at each other from time to time, and Sheba was, more than once, accused of cheating.

Isaac didn't take part. He sat in a corner, sipping at boiled molasses and taking subtle glances towards the window every so often. From near the fireplace there often came cries of_ "HAHA You snooze you lose!"_ and other victory cries. Jenna at once particular thrashing of Garet felt the need to express her happiness with interpretive dance. Sheba joined her, just because.

"Hey, you're right. Ivan is missing," Garet said.

"I thought he was sleeping at your place, Isaac?" Jenna said.

"No, he never came home," Isaac said.

"Maybe he went back while you were there," Aaron piped up.

Isaac shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Who was the last to see him, anyways?" Garet asked.

"I saw him going up towards the remains of Mount Aleph before sundown," Sheba cut in.

"Mount Aleph?" Jenna wrinkled her nose. "Why on Weyard would he go up there? It's dangerous. There's nothing here but rocks and ruins."

"Meditation I guess," Sheba shrugged. "I didn't ask."

"But that was some time ago," Isaac said slowly. Which means he's been up there for hours..."

"He could've fallen in!" Garet said.

"We should go in pairs. I call Felix," Sheba said.

"Let's go, Isaac," Garet said. "It'll be just like old times."

"Jenna opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it. Sheba shook her head and muttered something like _idiot_ but Garet didn't see or hear it.

**.**

Sheba lead the way. It wasn't until some time that Felix realized that they were in fact going _the opposite direction_. He thought it a mistake, despite it being Sheba. She wasn't from around here. It was dark. Inexplicably, he gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"Wait, Sheba. We're not going towards Mount–"

"That's the point," Sheba said. "We're not supposed to be the ones to find Ivan. Besides, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

She turned about with the latern in her hands until he could see the expression on her face. It was the same knowing, often smug grin that she often carried, but this time the darkness gave it more of a sense of malevolence.

"I thought you'd finally done with that whole angst thing. You're living with Piers, but when I asked him how the honeymoon was going and he had not idea what I was talking about. Also, the implications bewildered him."

Felix cringed on Piers' behalf – and his own.

"So let me get this straight – You're in love with him, you're not together as lovers, but you live together?" Sheba said.

"Yes," Felix replied.

"That's insane, and the kind of thing only you could do," Sheba said. She shook her head and looked far at the darkened countryside.

"You know, I used to have the biggest crush on you," Sheba mused. "And then I realized you were gay, or at least Piersexual and the whole time I had a crush on your sister too. Funny thing."

Felix said nothing. When it came to Sheba there often was no words to be said. Now was one of those times.

"Seriously, though, aren't you going to do anything? It's been five years. Are you just going to sit around and mope the whole time?" Sheba said. "Also, if you answer 'yes, I'm going to keep angsting' I'm going to hit you. Repeatedly."

Felix still said nothing. Being the Tall Dark and Silent Hero was his thing, after all. More than that, anything he said she would jump on with an _AH-HAH! YOU DO REALLY LOVE HIM_ even if it was innocuous as_ "Nice weather today"_ for talking about the meant that he was changing the subject which meant he really was in love. Then again, she could read minds so maybe she had gotten more on this than he knew.

"I can't believe all of you! Ivan, Isaac, Garet, Jenna – all of you! You're running around pining and doing nothing about it. Obviously you should just kiss them and get it over with. If they like it, then you've got yourself a mate. If not, then you at least got a good kiss out of it and can move onto someone else."

"Not everyone can read minds. The rest of us have to guess," Felix said.

"Yeah, but Ivan can. What's his excuse?"

"Loving a male is taboo. Not everyone is as shameless as you are."

"Pah, screw taboos. You saved the whole damn world. You deserve somebody to grow old with," she said.

"....Everyone does," Felix said after a pause.

"Besides, you're lucky. You have that beautiful pyromanic for a sister. If anyone ever said anything remotely bad about you, she'd fry them to a crisp."

Felix did have to admit she had a point.

"I'd pull in too. Not just because zapping people is fun – friends help each other like that."

"It's a complicated matter," Felix said.

Sheba snorted. "It always is. And most of those complications are ones you set for yourselves. Though, it is funny to watch from the outside. It wouldn't have been half so amusing if you guys just went out and told each other. In fact, I should _thank_ you guys for being idiots about each other. It made it so much more entertaining that way."

"...I see," Felix said.

"So will you?" She said point blankly.

"Will I–"

"Tell Piers already? This is getting boring even for me."

"I'm waiting for the right time," Felix said.

"Felix, Felix," she said. "Listen to me here. It has been _five years_. More if you count the time of the journey along with it. The right time has been sitting irritated right there the whole time. Do it now or I'll help it along a little."

Sheba's form of 'helping' proved to be highly frightening. When she had thought Isaac and Jenna were a thing, those two had found themselves locked in closets by 'accident' and catching each other for errant brush that lead to tripping.

Sheba could cause a whole lot of havoc when she was 'helping'. And who knows what depths she might fall to when trying to 'help' two _men_ along. The mere thought made Felix cringe in horror.

"I'll do it...just not yet," Felix said carefully. "Ivan is missing. It's not the time."

"I guess I'll accept that for now," Sheba muttered. "Well, at least I can cross this one off."  
She pulled out a small battered piece of paper. Felix could just make out the details in the remains of light. She had crossed out _Make Felix stop being an angstbucket and kiss Piers already_. Beside it, and yet to be filled were _Make Jenna marry that big lug already (but steal a kiss first – as payment)_ and _Make Isaac and/or Ivan admit to being utterly gay for each other. Neither one is fooling **anyone.**_

Felix knew better than to ask.

**.**

It was Jenna who was stuck with Piers, thought it wasn't so much an inconvenience. Piers was calm, and kind. More than that he had a deep sense of maturity and a great knowledge of things that made him a fascinating person to converse with. She enjoyed his company very much, and if she hadn't been loving Isaac back then, she might have even developed a crush on him.

Maybes, what ifs.... But now Piers lived with Felix, as friends. They traveled – as friends. Sometimes she thought she saw things that weren't friendly. They fell into a grey area that Felix and Piers seemed to dance about.

While other groups may have been left with lanterns, hers was of a flame caught in her palms. Even when a cold wind fell through and the flames flickered, the flame did not go out as it was fed by her power.

Piers was quiet, stuck in his own thoughts – or perhaps merely very concerned about Ivan's well-being. She couldn't tell which.

**.**

Garet and Isaac didn't have the same lantern problems that some of the crew did, mostly because Garet was a walking lantern and always quite happy to play with fire.

Isaac hadn't heard the creeping behind him and though Garet had just begun to say his friend's name in warning, it was interrupted by a rush of psyenergy used on him. Mind read. It tingled and shimmered over Isaac before disappearing into nothing.

"Ivan? Is that you–? " Isaac turned to face a short Jupiter Adept which was most definitely not Ivan.

"Sheba?"

"Oh I'm sorry Isaaac," she said too sweetly. "Was I reading your mind? I meant to use reveal because I thought I saw something shiny in the ground. They're _so_ easy to mix up sometimes."

Isaac cleared his throat. "Uh, yes..."

There was a rustling as Felix emerged of the bushes. His face was not merely blank, but _pointedly_ so. Garet frankly didn't want to know.

"We got lost," Sheba said. "Any luck finding Ivan?"

"...Not yet," Isaac said. It was fairly redundant, as she probably already gleaned that. Even Garet was catching on that this must be a rhetorical question.

The smirk Sheba gave him made Isaac shift on his feet, as if he felt a deep sense of unease. That look implied that was likely she'd gotten far more than a mere knowledge that they hadn't found Ivan yet. Garent didn't think too much on it though. Sheba did strange things but she was a good kid, albeit a mischievous one. Then again, Garet never thought too hard on anything.

"Come on, the ruins of Mount Aleph are just ahead!"

**.  
**  
Piers was the first to notice. It was there, a floating light coming towards them.

"Is it a ignis fatuus?" Piers said. "I've heard of them but never seen them."

"It looks like a bird?" Jenna said.

"Wait, it's flying right towards us– It's a monster!"

It swooped down just over Jenna's head. She growled and lifted her staff, her hair whipping about in the wake of the gathering energy.

"BURN!"

A serpent fume of Jenna's creating flew towards the thing. Flare and spark hit against living ice. The ice bird screeched in pain, diminished, but did not fully disappear.

"Volcano!"

A rising wall of fire engulfed it. A last shriek came from the Ice Bird as it melted into the water it had come from.

Jenna and Garet cheered and fist bumped in a fit of Mars pride.

"We make a great team!"

A bit of paper fluttered down, miraculously unburned. It was Sheba who reached it first.

"Dear Issac. I have captured your damsel, companion, comrade and/or concubine and will only relinquish him if you deliver the other half of the Golden Sun by morning then I cannot guarantee his safety – or your own."

"Sheba!" Jenna said. "Read the real thing, this isn't the time to be joking about."

"That IS the real thing. I like this guy."

Piers' brow furrowed in thought. "But who would kidnap Ivan?"

"Couldn't Ivan merely Shine Plasma his way out? I mean, he may be a fey little waif who could be blown down by a stiff wind, but he can zap like it's nobody's business," Sheba said.

"Maybe it's a place that resists alchemy? Or he's locked underground where his Jupiter power would be severely diminished. Or the person, or persons in question."

"Whoever it is, they're on Mount Aleph," Isaac said.

In the distance there was a faint glow, similar to the Ice Bird, but not quite the same.

"Isn't that a light? Maybe it's another monster," Piers said.

"Whatever it is, we'll see when we get there," Isaac said.  
**  
.**

They came upon the light sooner than they thought they would. It looked farther than it was, and it wasn't long before they came upon Alex of all people sitting with a teacup in hand. Ivan was close beside him, frowning in Alex's direction.

Alex turned to them and smiled, a low, slow smirk "Well, you're just in time for tea."

"Isaac! E-everyone!" Ivan said. "You came!"

"Ivan! You're alright!" Jenna said.

"Why didn't you just fry him instead of making us rescue you?" Sheba said "You interrupted a great card game. I was winning."

"Well, I— I- couldn't–" Ivan began. "Isaac, be careful, he's going to—"

"Quiet," Alex ordered. A light of psyenergy floated over the air, and ice formed over Ivan's mouth, ice formed over his mouth and neck, effectively silencing whatever he had been trying to say.

"Ivan!" Isaac said. "Alex, what are you planning?"

"I suppose you aren't up for crumpets? What a shame."

Alex drank the last of his tea and set the teacup aside with finality.

"Well, I did so want to be reacquainted with all of you, and he does seem dear to you... It's a simple enough trade. Ivan for your half of the Golden Sun."

"What would you want with the Golden Sun?" Isaac said.

"Well it should be _fairly _ obvious. I'm going to take over the world. Alchemy will usher in a new era of prosperity and I will be its king. Everyone will benefit that way. I get to be king, all of you get the honor bestowed of me being your king—"

"Really, just that? That's so uncool," Sheba said. "You forgot the whole 'enslave the race to do your bidding' for one. Any villain worth their weight would remember _that._"

Alex frowned. "Yes, I was getting to that..."

"I thought you said you _weren't_ being a generic villain," Ivan said.

Alex sniffed in their general direction. "You're simply jealous."

"Of your _hair_ maybe, but your villainy needs some work," Sheba said.

Alex frowned, muttered a _I'll show you _before he took a deep breath, as if he had gone into his happy place (a place which was probably an arctic wasteland with him as king with a huge harem of beauties, both male and female).

"Now, hand over the other half of the Golden Sun."

"I refuse," Isaac said.

"Then, say goodbye to your dear comrade. He'll make a nice ice sculpture."

The ice on Ivan grew until in came over his shoulders and arms in a coat of pure cold. Ivan's eyes were wild, but whatever sound he made was muffled by the thickness of the sheeting over him.

"Ivan!" Isaac said.

"You're crazy! It's Eight against one plus a whole village full of psyenergy users?" Jenna said.

"Most villains are crazy, and I've been underground for so long, my powers may have just consumed what little sanity I had left."

"Crazy or not, we're not backing down," Isaac said.

Alex shrugged, "Let's get on with this, then."

The air suddenly became colder by degrees. Everything became white, a horrible, clear and cold white that ate up everything around it. Piers shivered and clutched at his bare arms. Jenna stared up, and Sheba caught a snowflake on her tongue.

_"I suppose no one ever taught you how to truly tap into the elements, did they?"_

Alex was gone, as was Ivan. There was nothing but the arctic cold that spread through the countryside, leaving pale, powdery snow in its wake.

"He must be tapping into his half of the Golden Sun and even the power of Mount Aleph. I wish Kraden was here, or Hama...Or both!" Jenna said.

"Yeah, but Kraden is in Lemuria, remember? Hama's in Contigo and while Mia might've known something about how to defeat Alex, she's guarding Imil. Too bad, I miss her."

Jenna tossed her hair. "Well _you're_ welcome to walk to Imil right now if you miss her so much."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Enough with the UST already, we've got some cliche plot of doom on our hands and Alex wants to make us ice all ice sculptures in his villaincastle," Sheba said. "I could've sworn I'd read something like this ten times before."

"We're going to have to split up and look for him," Isaac said. "Piers, you go with Felix. Jenna, you go with Garet. Sheba, you're with me."

Piers and Felix both nodded in unison. "Understood."

Garet and Jenna, still in mid fight-mode, refused to look at each other

_"Fine."_

Sheba grinned. "Cool."

"Everyone be careful. The Golden Sun even halved increases Alex's power tenfold. You can see the effects of it for yourself."

Isaac gestured to the swiftly falling snow which had come upon Vare. Already it was a mirror of Imil during the coldest of months.

"_Alex_ is the one who's going to have to be careful when I get ahold of him. I can't wait to set fire to that prettyboy hair of his and watch as he _screams_," Jenna said.

**.**

Note: Hopefully the next will come very soon~! If you're counting along with the total wordcount listed (I do it mostly for myself to keep track) tends to add wordcount with italics and bolding, etc. I once got 1,000+ gain in supposed wordcount from one fic. It was cool.

Seeya guys soon~


	5. Chapter 5 part one

Title: Every Happy End (5 part one)  
Day/Theme:12/9. one last day in the shadows  
Fandom: Golden Sun  
Rating: PG-13 for later parts  
Summary: Ivan returns to a rebuilt Vale five years later with much on his mind. Eventual Isaac/Ivan, sideline Garet/Jenna, Felix/Piers, Sheba/???  
Wordcount: 2528, 20,839 total, including unposted things.  
A/N: For Lin, as always. Happy (late) birthday! Also I missed the one-year anniversary despite hoping to update (and even finish) by then. Anyways, we're getting closer to the end. Thanks for sticking with this! Part five is going to be split up into several pieces to prevent me from ripping my hair out. This unfortunately means plenty of cliffhangers, but if it's shorter I should be able to update a bit faster.

Hopefully.

**.**

VII.

Felix pushed through a snowdrift. Piers lagged behind, his Lemurian attire woefully inadequate for a sudden snowfall to rival Imil at his worst.

"You're shivering."

"I m-may be a Mercury adept, but I w-was raised in the t-tropics."

Piers clutched at himself, searching for whatever warmth he could find. Felix unwound his scarf, slow and even. When he had unknotted it, put it over Piers' shoulders without a word. It was dull olive green and large enough to drag on the ground. It didn't drive back all of the cold, but it did help some. The gesture was oblique, yet kind.

"Thank you, Felix."

Felix didn't say anything and he didn't look to Piers; he only looked ahead. The houses were covered in white caps of snow.

"We should stop by at the next houses we find and find some leggings, and a thicker shirt. It won't help anyone if you get frostbite."

Piers breathed on his hands. He said a silent prayer that everyone else would be alright as well.

Wouldn't you know that the one Adept that would have been most useful in an Alex related case was off in a winter wasteland of her own?

**.**

"What an annoyance. Argh, when I get a hold of that Alex guy...Bang!" Jenna swiped her staff at the frosty air.

"Hey, save your energy for him. Let me do the fire here," Garet said.

"Hah, you? You've got way less mana than I do. You'll run out long before we get anywhere near there," Jenna said.

"Oh, really? Try me. I've been practicing a lot you know," Garet said. He flexed his arm, as if she needed proof, but then again, Garet rarely needed an excuse to flex his arms.

Jenna laughed. "You can practice all you want, you'll still be a big lug who uses all his mana in one burst!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make sure you don't wear yourself out. Let me help out here," Garet said. His voice was softer than usual, even gentle.

"Stay close, alright? Oh hey, we're almost up to my house! I can see it from right here."

Jenna smirked. "Oh, and _I'll_ be the one who's protecting you while you flex in the mirror there."

On the horizon was blue throughout all the white, coming ever closer to them.

**.**

Meanwhile, Isaac was contemplating many things, from the fate of everyone else, and especially regret of his choice in partners.

"I've always wanted to ask this – Do you have idea where you're going, or do you just walk blindly looking stoic and call it destiny?" Sheba said.

Isaac didn't respond. Instead he squinted. He'd thought he'd heard a sound, like a large crack, yet now that he was here he couldn't seem to find the origin of it.

"...I thought I heard something," he said.

"Well, maybe he's chillin' in that giant villaincastle up there."

Isaac looked up. There was a giant structure of crystal clear ice rising from the lower part of Vare, near the gates. Any passage in and out was now blocked by thick walls of ice.

"...That was fast," Isaac said.

"Tell me about it. You think that was the power of the Golden Sun, or the power of his gigantic ego?"

Isaac nodded. "It seems to be. I don't think his powers could've improved that much on his own. I think he might be drawing power from the psyenergy crystal in the middle of town, considering where he built it. I guess we can't fault him for living in style. I would, if I were taking over the world. I don't see why he'd turn this place into a Imilian wasteland. If I could use it, it'd look like those tropical islands we had so much fun on. Apogees all the way!"

Isaac stared at her.

"What? Sheesh, you're no fun. I don't see what everyone sees in you. 'Oh he's so dreamy, hero boy!'"

Isaac cleared his throat. "We should get going."

"Yeah, yeah, it's all work with you."

Isaac didn't see it at first, the fragments of ice coming towards him, as a fall off, or the shouts that had drawn him there. When he did, it was too late to even have the protection of psyenergy. And then there was nothing, no sound, no feeling. Just a sense of quiet and white.

And a fading.

**.**

Images. Isaac felt oddly aware that this was not his regular state, and he watched from afar in this state of not-being,(He wondered if he'd died, but it seemed illogical to die now when this close.)

He remembered.

The first time he'd seen Ivan, he'd been too busy with his recent mistakes to take that much notice. The learning was gradual, as Isaac realized long after Ivan had joined him just how much he relied on him.

There were minor hints, from the beginning to the shock of Ivan taking his hand and sharing psyenergy, or the stab of something – could it be jealousy? – when he took Garet's hand.

Throughout these traveling, disjointed images, it was one memory in particular that he focused on.  
It came clearer than the others, like the sharp scent of alcohol, and the numbing feel of ice were present – as if he were there all over again.

**.  
**  
Isaac was a talky drunk. It wasn't something he'd ever expected to find out, as he didn't see the appeal of drinking oneself into a stupor. However things occurred to change to this unexpected outcome. After the events that had transpired – the lighthouses, the saving of the world, finding Felix and his parents, even just the giddiness of everyone surviving the fall of Mount Aleph it all lead to a celebration. They'd taken it to Vault where Ivan had met up again with the kindly Mayor who had offered him shelter when Master Hammet left.

Even with the loss of their homes, they'd celebrated life and renewal and the passing of another day. Bottles had been opened and everyone had cheers for a hero. Isaac had found that he couldn't resist all the drinks being handled to him. They just kept coming and even if he didn't care that much for the taste, he couldn't quite turn them down either. One drink lead to another and another and another... Soon his reasoning became watery, unstable.

His last coherent fragment of thought was seeing Piers guiding an ever more drunk Felix out and the soft sound of Mia's voice. She guided him step by careful step out into the cold night air. He looked up and saw the moon, the stars and felt profoundly dizzy.

She Doused him, he remembered that much. Isaac said things, he can't remember in retrospect. He'd probably babbled out his entire life's story, rife with embarrassing details.

She was completely sober as was the healer's vow and still remembered every detail. Thankfully, it was Mia and not Sheba (who he'd last seen dancing with Jenna and three other girls) Mia would keep every embarrassing detail quiet. Sheba...would probably sell it to the highest bidder. Or simply tell the world at large. For fun.

And then the details got shaky. He didn't remember what he said after that but apparently it'd been even worse than all the other details combined. He didn't remember much except everything blurring into fragments of purple under the night sky.

But he remembered a face that wasn't hers. He remembered coming closer, and touching the hallucination's cheek.

She'd been too kind to slap him out of the daze, but that hadn't stopped her from freezing him and leaving him until morning. All in all, slapping actually might've been a bit kinder as Isaac had sobered up a fifteen minutes later and spent the night shivering in an ice-prison. He couldn't have Grand Gaia'd himself out without wrecking half the town and the only Djinn he had on him were of the Venus variety.

All night he'd tried to reason with Granite who kept starring at him and chirping every time he tried to tell it to help him get out of here. That'd teach him not to borrow Garet's Djinn when he offered.  
**  
_._**

Garet was the one to find him, as for some reason he seemed fairly immune to the aftereffects of alcohol.

"Isaac, how on Weyard did this happen? Wait...Whoa, whoa– Whoa, you and Mia?" He grinned, "I never thought you the type to go about chasing girls at night."

"Garet I really...don't want to talk about it. Ever," Isaac said, "So if you could. Get me down, please."

Garet chuckled knowingly. "Not a problem, my friend."

"Volcano!"

A pillar of fire saved him from the prison of ice. Isaac fell in a crumpled heap, Granite still chirping away at him, and hopping about him.

Isaac flexed his legs. If he healed them right away, he might not even get frostbite and lose complete use of his legs.

However when he went to ask, it was Piers who he asked, not Mia. (Piers had a confused expression as to _how_ Isaac ended up in a frosty cage all night, but he wasn't Sheba, and thus was polite enough not to ask.)

But still, he was bound to face it eventually. Better earlier than later. It was Mia who approached him, her serenity was unbroken, and without hint of an underlying anxiety. She showed no sign that the events of last night had changed anything between them. She never held grudges. He was glad for it. If the same thing had happened with Jenna, it might be months before she'd talk to him again. Years, even.

"Are you feeling better?" Mia said.

He held her gaze. "I'm alright. Piers healed me."

Mia glanced back at Garet. "Garet...would you mind letting Isaac and I talk alone for a minute? It's important and something I want to keep private. With no offense to you–"

Garet grinned knowingly. "No, no, I'm not offended at all. I know you guys want to have a little _alone time_ to solve this lover's quarrel. So good luck!"

He winked and walked off without another word or looking back.

"I never thought of you that way...." she said. "You're like...a younger brother to me."

And in truth, neither had he. For a moment his senses had left him and her eyes had seemed violet. She'd seem smaller, he'd had an almost hallucination that she was someone else entirely. It had been another's name he'd said, another's lips he'd wanted to kiss.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember much. The alcohol made me mistake you for someone else."

"That was quite evident," she said dryly. "Isaac...You're going to tell him, aren't you? He's going to leave soon, as Master Hama is waiting for him. If you don't tell him now, you could never get the chance."

"I don't know," Isaac said.

"What's not to know?"

"Everything," Isaac said. "What to say, how to go about it...Everything."

"You certainly seemed to know them last night," she said drily, "If you don't tell him now, not then you'll be an insufferable coward. Who knows what could happen after this. He could go find a wife down there, or die. With that much distance there's no telling. And if you don't, then there's a good chance you'll live your entire life in regret."

She waggled her finger in a way that was so motherly that he felt a deep desire to laugh.

He didn't, though. That laughter that bubbled up never even showed on his face.

And as the days wore on Isaac found that dealing with saving the world was an easier feat than telling his male friend that he liked him. Granted, the result would have been the same if it had been Mia or Jenna. Isaac just didn't do talking about his feelings or emotions. A few times he'd almost started something, but things had happened. First Garet walked in when he was about to ask Ivan's plans, or it was that his mother called him, or that a sudden downpour came so that it was like the gods themselves were telling him not to go there.

So when the time came, he was still far from telling. Even more, he was even worse off as Garet hadn't kept his mouth shut, and most everyone was giving him and Mia knowing grins, much to her discomfort.

He didn't wish Ivan goodbye. He supposed in that, he was more like his mother than he realized.

"I guess I'll be an insufferable coward," Isaac said to himself.

And so five years passed.

**.  
**  
Isaac woke to a bright white coldness and the rather ominous muttering Sheba was doing.

"Let's see...Granite didn't work...So far I've summoned a few monsters, moved boulders and made his defense rock hard. There's _got_ to be a Djinn with a healing power..."

She shook one of his Venus Djinn as if it was a rusty implement that just needed a little bit of resettling. It squeaked indignantly.

It leapt over to hide behind Isaac. He wondered if Sheba had threatened to make a soup of it. Again.

Speaking of the devil, a blond head blocked out all the white. She was grinning. Never a good sign, that.

"Well, good morning sleeping beauty. So nice of you to join us again. Really. It is, it'd be bad if I had to tell everyone else you died halfway due to some generic falling rocks. Worst ending ever."

Isaac groaned. His head was killing him.

"You might wanna Cure that, unless you want to bleed out. A few of those attempts to wake you up ended up with more rocks. I also might have hit you with my staff a few times to see if it'd wake you up."

Isaac groaned again. He believed her. He was going to be covered with bruises by the time this was over.

He was startled to attention by a cry, and then the sounds of flames. He looked up to see, and saw smoke, and a burst of flares through the

"This can't be good. We'll have to aid him. Maybe there's more of the creatures."

"Or maybe, they've met up with Alex for real," Sheba said. Her voice was silky, eager even.

Isaac brushed the snow off and felt the warm piercing flow of Cure through him.

"Let's go."


End file.
